A few years ago Paul McColgan, Community Renewal CEO, experienced a traumatic death in his family: “Sadly I had first-hand experience of the strain that an unexpected death can place on a family, when my brother in law died suddenly in his twenties. Like many young families there was no provision for such an unexpected event but fortunately other family members were able to support the funeral costs. It highlighted to me the terrible financial burden arranging a funeral can place on many families, particularly younger families and that something needed to be done.”

Paul started investigating further, discovering that funeral costs have been increasing fast, and this was hitting Scottish families hard, pushing one in seven into debt.

In 2017 Community Renewal started work on Caledonia Cremation, Scotland’s first not for profit funeral directors. This new social enterprise was launched in February 2018 to tackle funeral poverty. Caledonia Cremation offers a simple dignified direct cremation for only £995 for anyone anywhere in Scotland. By offering more choice, more flexibility and more advice we can help bring down funeral costs for everyone, whether rich or poor.